In God's name - Godric

Celeste had been tasked with checking in on one of the angels she had helped punish for his crimes. He was not doing great. Just this month, he had killed an innoncent girl. She couldn't help think of her own daughter. What if it had been her? She was both scared for his future actions and for every of the people who might suffer at his hand. After speaking with God, she was allowed to use deceit to get him to her and make amend for his sins. She had anonymously booked him for a job and asked him to meet at this very depressive place, but it did seem proper for this kind of a meeting. It was not because she made a habit of arranging such meetings. She was waiting in the tomb standing in the middle of it. She had more angels with her around the cemetery who could help her when he got here. She folded her hands and looked up. "Dear father, please forgive me for the pain I am about to inflict." She took in a deep breath and let her blue eyes lock on the gate leading down to the tomb. She was ready.

Outfit

Godric didn't exactly feel ready to take on another job, especially not when the offer had come from an anonymous person. But he had to get back into business again, not because of lack of money, but because he was going crazy sitting home alone thinking about his last one. What a mess it had been! Sp he'd said yes. And now he was stepping out of his car, his suit on, and a silenced pistol under the jacket. Just for good measure. He was getting increasingly paranoid over the last few weeks and who could really blame him? Some dead girl had known his real name and a complete stranger had shot him square in the chest only to heal him and run off.

As he stepped into the cemetary he noticed an energy to the place. Something he hadn't felt for quite some time and it immediately sent him on edge as he pulled out the gun subtly, looking around completely alert.
However, it did not prepare him for multiple angels swooping down the skies directly at him, and he didn't even get to pull the trigger even once. They had him in a vice grip by the time the small confrontation was over and one of them also managed to keep his powers at bay. Nullification was one hell of a thing. And then they proceeded to bring him along to a tomb, still very neat. He'd even given up resisting, because Godric knew that there was nothing he could do to stop whatever was going on.

Inside the tomb his eyes adapted to the darkness and he saw her: Celeste, one of the angels who'd been there when they'd taken his wings. He sighed, deeply annoyed.
"You," he spoke, voice void of emotions. "The irony isn't lost on me. You set up a meeting with the former angel of death. On a cemetary. I guess God does make jokes every now and then," there was a sarcastic drip to him as he looked almost uninterested at Celeste.

Celeste looked at him with a still comforting aura. She walked closer to him. She was a very petite woman, just reaching 157 centimeter in height. She heard his words and just shook her head. "No. I picked out the place. I am the funny one." She moved over to him. "Azra'il" she said with a gentle smile. "I can help you. You can be pure again, holy. It dos not have to be like this. Do you not miss heaven?" She moved to him. "Otherwise I will have to punish you. What you did to that poor girl, it cannot go by unnoticed." She looked at the other angels. She was not going to enjoy any of this. She wanted to help people, she just wanted everyone to be happy and good all the time. But she was also well aware that was very naive to think like that. So she just tried to help those she could. Hopefully Azra'il was one fo them. "Is this how you want to live? Killing innoncent girl's? What had she ever done to you? Was she really evil? Had she done anything to hurt you or someone else? Why did she have to die?" She was talking alot, but she hoped she could still reach him, make him good again.

Godric smirked. He hadn't picked Celeste as a funny angel. She'd been a happy angel back then, but then again, he could barely even remember that time. Life down here had a way of stripping the good memories of Heaven. He straigtened up a bit more, becoming tense as she spoke his real name. He hated it. "Would you miss a place with people who rip you into pieces, limb by limb?" he asked purely theoretically. Not at all a remembrance to his own wings that were now only scars on his back. Noo, no no, not at all. He looked her dead in the eyes, cold and heartless as she moved on to talk about Ava, as if she knew the whole story.

"Firstly.. I don't need your help. That girl died because it's my job now. It's what I do, because that's what I'm good at," he could probably be good at other things, but he truly felt that this was his life's calling after he was banished. That's just how it was.
"Secondly..." and this time, Godric actually allowed his cold anger to seep through his eyes. "My name is not Azra'il anymore. God saw fit to take that away from me when he so kindly ripped off my wings and tossed me down here. So you can take your purity and sentimentality and go back to your nice little piece of Heaven.. I'm not going back, and I'm not going to make amends for doing my professional job," he said with such force that the angels still holding him tensed up. He didn't give a shit. They could all go to Hell for all that he cared.

Celeste was not getting through to him. She wanted to, she just wanted him to agree. That way she could heal him, rid him of all darkness, and then she wouldn't have to hurt him. But it was God's wish, and she could not go against his wishes. "No, I suppose not." She had experienced much pain here on earth, and it was not her favorite place, so she understood why heaven wasn't his. "I am sorry it will have to be like this. I wish it could be different."

"I do not understand. How can killing be a job? How can you do it so easily?" She wanted to understand him, to know why it didn't bother him than it did. "What do you wish to be called then?" She didn't speak of the, quite frankly, remarks he spit at her. She made a downwards movement and had the angels push Godric to his knees so she was now taller than him. "If this is how you wish to live your life, I will have no other option than to give you the appropiate punishment." Light appeared in her hands, holy light. She moved it closer to him, and he would already now feel the discomfort from it. "Is it what you want?"

It really was a rarity, to be able to spew all this shit at her, and that she wasn't even angry about it. Instead she showed understanding and it pissed Godric off instead of making him more happy, as it would have for most other people. "I just do it. It's like beeping wares at a shop," he shrugged. Okay, maybe it wasn't, but he was not about to admit that to Celeste of all people!
"Godric is my new name. Godric Morax," the smirk came back as he was almost hoping that Celeste caught the irony. Having God be a part of a name where the surname was of demonic origins. The other angels certainly did catch it, tensing up even more, their grips on him much tighter.

He sighed again as he was put to his knees. This really was just an old tune of angels wanting to be better and taller. He looked down and then up at her, shrugging once more. "That was a new suit," but as the holy light appeared in her hands, Godric could do nothing but attempt to back away at the awfully uncomfortable feeling it made him feel. Nausea and a slight headache was sent into his body and he tensed up trying to get out of there.
"What the fuck do you think!? So I have to either dance to God's tune or be punished by you? I'd rather have your disgusting holy light right in my face than be God's little pet toy!"

Celeste just looked at bit confused at his words. How could it be like that? How could he just do it? She decided to drop it for now, since he likely wasn't going to be giving her an informative enough answer. "You can joke too. I like that. I will just call you Morax then. It is a pretty name." She was just naturally supportive and kind to others, so even if he had done something to disrespect her God, she would never be angry at him because of it.

She widened her eyes slightly when he pointed out it was a new suit. "I am so sorry. I did not mean to ruin your clothes." She saw how it was already affecting him and she almost chose to not do it. She didn't want anyone to feel pain or discomfort because of her. She put her hand on his cheek and looked away. She couldn't handle looking at him while she did it. She only helt it for about 30 seconds, just to make him get a warning. And maybe because she couldn't stomach it for long.

The politeness was throwing him off at best and he was getting increasingly irritated by it. As she called his name pretty, he frowned, thrashing a bit more to get free. He wanted to get up, get in her face and tell her how much he resented what she was trying to do. "Whatever.. If that's what you want to do, I guess I can't stop you," he spoke, still with cold anger in his voice.

At this point, even as she apologized for ruining his clothes, Godric's eyes narrowed but he didn't get so say anything before her hand was on his cheek and the holy, burning sensation increased, making him thrash in the grip of his captors once again. He really was trying to get away now.
"Stop it, just fucking stop!" he yelled at her, not referring to her powers, but her politeness. "Your politeness can bite me," he looked at her furiously. "Just be done with it. Do what you came here do to, and GET OUT of my sight!"

Celeste was just trying to do best by him, while still living up to her duty. She really didn't like that he was hurting, but she was still required to go through with this. She was of course not expected to kill him, but just punish him enough for the crime he had comitted. She stopped when he told her to and just looked at him.

She looked at him with sadness in her eyes. Why was he so content on doing this? Was he really happy like this? She took in a deep breath when he voiced that he wanted to have it overwith. She put both hands on his head, her fingers moving into his hair. She gave some more of her power, letting it move through his body, making it feel like he was burning from the inside. She moved her hands down a little and let her thumbs brush over his eyebrows to spread the light to his eyes as well. And then she just let go, leaving him alone. Even if everything in her told her to stay and help him. The others let go of him and went with her before they all flew to the sky.

//Celeste is out

Ava was walking by the cemetery when her senses picked up on some sounds nearby. Someone in pain, and wings flapping? She rushed to the tomb and went in to see him laying on the ground. He was very pale and didn't seem completely concious. She sat down on her knees next to him. She could recognize him, of course. And somehow she wasn't angry. She was still figuring out everything as a new vampire, and she was hardly used to any of it. She sat down properly and lifted his upper body with a strength she never had before, and lifting him up and used hed arm as place for his head to lay, with the top of his back against her thighs. She bit open her wrist and gently opened his mouth to drop some of it into his system. She was not sure how much she needed to give him, so she just waited until the wound healed itself. She just sat with him, not sure what else to do. Should she call Jaxson? Or maybe that would be to weird for him since they looked exactly alike. No, she should just take care of this herself. She just hoped he didn't die, not only because she didn't want him to die, but also because she wouldn't know what to do with a newly turned vampire. She was still a newborn herself.

It gave Godric some sort of comfort that Celeste actually listened to him and didn't fuss about, instead choosing to listen to what he said, getting everything over with. He took a deep breath as her hands drew nearer, awaiting the horrible sensations. After all, he knew how it was. His blood boiling ability had been very similar before he'd been banished. He managed not to scream in pain as the energies seeped into his body, making him feel as if he was burning from the inside and out, but it took all his power of will. He wouldn't give Celeste or any of the other angels the satisfaction of him showing the pain he was in. His body thrashed involuntarily, almost starting to convulse until Celeste focused her powers directly on his eyes, burning out his sense of sight enough so that everything went black.

And just as quickly she let go. So did the angels holding him and he collapsed to the ground, weak with pure exhaustion. When they walked away he attempted to crawl out of the tomb but a coughing fit sent him reeling to the ground as he tasted blood that started dripping out of his mouth. He could feel himself slipping away slowly, his coughing slowly subsiding.
He was almost unconscious when someone else walked in and and moved him around and he could see nothing. An added taste of blood filled his mouth and he ended up swallowing it, still coughing because he felt like he was almost drowning in it, until he started very slowly feeling better. It took a while, where he fought to stay awake, twitching in the stranger's grasp.

Slowly his vision came back, blurry. He couldn't make out who was sitting with him yet, not before his vision cleared up a bit more. Then he recognized the person. The girl. Was she even real? Had he just died? Was he in Hell!? He sat up fast, creating some distance between the two of them, but he wasn't able to stand just yet. Instead he sat there, looking at her with pain written all over his face. The injuries still weren't quite healed. And he didn't know what to say at all. He just stared at the girl he had killed very recently.

Ava had thought a lot about what had happened with her and the angel. She had been angry at first, but then she had thought about what he had said, how he had treated her, and the memory of him. He didn't seem like a person who was bad, he was just a survivor like so many others in this world. She couldn't blame him for that, could she? And now as she sat with him, she was having mixed feelings about him. He needed her help, and she was going to give it to him, but he also evoked some emotions in her she was not quite ready to face. She just kept being taken back to that day when he ended her life. And now here she was, saving his. Life was funny like that, wasn't it?

She looked at him with a worried expression when he was coughing still. She thought he was supposed to be better. How long did it take? When he began twitching in her arms, she just held him and made sure he knew he wasn't alone. He moved away so suddenly and she just sat back a moment. She turned her head to him and saw the pain on his face. "Hey, hey take it easy. You're hurt." She stood up and walked towards him slowly. "You should be better soon," she looked at him carefully before doing anything. She didn't want to freak him out. He probably thought she was dead, which was understandable.

Godric was so confused. He didn't understand what was happening and why Ava was here. She was dead! She was supposed to be either forgotten or found by some poor soul and then get taken to a morgue. Then the police would start searching for the killer but find nothing because Godric was really, REALLY good at killing without leaving any evidence.

But here she was, even trying to make him slow down and take it easy "How... Are you not dead?" he spoke with a raspy, weak voice as he wiped away blood from his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket. This suit was absolutely ruined at this point, dirty on the knees, and blood all over the place from his coughing.
He slowly got to his feet, backing away a bit more. This was actually freaking him out more than it would usually for a man like him. He ended up with his back against a wall, which was only a good thing considering how his legs were trembling.

Ava didn't know what to do. He was clearly freaking out, which she completely understood. He had seen her die, he had taken her to another location, or at least that was what she thought. She wasn't sure about that last part. But she had definitely died in his arm. She had no clue how to answer his question. Should she just tell him?

"Well I... Changed. Into a vampire." She saw him moving back until he was against the wall. "I'm coming over," she warned him and moved closer. He needed help. "Will you let me help you?" She was still trying to take it slow as to not overwhelm him. But maybe he was better off without her there. But then again, what if he collapsed or his injuries were worse than they looked. No, she couldn't just leave him to die here. It was all too depressive. And ironic, even if she could appreciate irony, it was just sad in this scenario.

The explanation was really everything Godric felt that he needed. But at the same time he knew that meant she was now physically stronger than him, and she might even be out for vengeance even though it didn't seem like it as of yet. The fact that she was even warning him before inching closer was a clear sign for Godric, that he clearly didn't look like he was alright, and that maybe he was just being a tad bit paranoid. She had helped him until now. All he needed to do was allow her to do it again, and maybe something good might even come out of this.

Finally he came to the conclusion that as much as he feared the worst, his legs couldn't keep him standing for much longer. He reached out placing a hand on her shoulder for support.
"Yeah, alright.. Alright," he said as his knees started to buckle.
"I'm sorry for.. What I did to you," Godric really wanted to let her know now that she was walking and talking. He'd felt bad for the last week and a half, even though he shouldn't. It had been his job. But he still felt horrible.[/color]

Ava thought the truth was the best way forward right now. She mostly thought that, but of course you shouldn't tell the truth just to hurt somebody. But this could maybe give him some clarity he needed to not think it was some sort of illusion or whatever was going through his mind.

He reached for her, and she put her arm around him to better hold him. "Maybe we should get out of here. This is kinda creepy," she said trying to lift the mood a bit. Ava looked at him when he spoke. "Let's not talk about that now," she quite frankly wasn't ready to talk about it, and then she didn't think this was the right time or place to have that talk. "I should say I gave you my blood. It's really weird, isn't it? I'm so sorry. I just wanted to help you and I... I should shut up." She turned her lips into a thin line.

With Ava's support, Godric could finally relax a bit. He leaned against her, not having the mental capacity to feel ashamed at being supported by a kid. A teenager, but still a kid in his eyes.
"My car's outside the cemetary," Godric explained, still not sounding quite well. His voice was shaky and slightly out of breath.

He nodded in understanding when Ava said not to talk about him killing her. He could relate to that, not wanting to talk about certain things. Her awkward attempt at explaining that she wanted to help him made him smile just a little bit, but it was strained. The pain was very slowly fading but it left him feeling both physically and emotionally drained.
"It's okay. It's just blood.. And.. Uh.. Thank you," now it was Godric's turn to feel awkward as they slowly started walking out of the tomb. Maybe some fresh air would help him clear his head just a little bit.

Ava was not surprised his voice was telling everyone who listened that he was not okay. "Okay, to the car," she said. "That was a batman reference." She really just was a little nerd.

She shortly caught glimpse of a smile. That made her feel oddly good. "I have plenty of it," she said and began walking out of the tomb with him in his tempo. "Are you doing okay?" She didn't want to move too fast and possible cause him discomfort or even pain. "And just tell me to shut up. I sometimes talk to much, it's just because I sometimes get really nervous and then I just talk and talk and.. Well you get it." Ava wasn't sure if he was expecting her to drive the car. That probably wouldn't be a good idea.

Godric quirked an eyebrow. He was supposed to know the reference? He didn't even know what this.. Batman was. He looked confused for a bit, but chose not to ask for now as he was way too focused on just walking steady and try not to cause himself harm on the way out.
"I'm fine," he lied when she asked if he was doing okay. He wasn't, but he was not going to tell her that. He just wanted to get out of here as fast as possible. This was not a good place anymore.

"It's alright, you can talk all you want," then he wouldn't have to. He could just listen to her babbling off and in that way avoid thinking about what had just happened with Celeste.
"But I do have a question. What is Batman?" as they got outside he began shaking because it was cold and even though he was healing, he was still tired and his body therefor wasn't good at adapting to the cold air.

Ava just continued walking carefully with him, but she also tried to hurry as much she could. They both seemed contained on getting out of there. "Good," she said even though she wasn't convinced. She couldn't tell how yet, but he seemed untruthful. Maybe it was his heart? Or some chemical his body created. Whatever it was, she just didn't think he was telling the truth. But she didn't call him out on it.

She had never been told she could just talk all she wanted. She usually was just told it was too much. "What?" She could have dropped from the shock. "Batman is a superhero from Gotham. He is dressed like a bat and has a batmobile and a bunch of cool stuff. And he has a really deep voice. 'Like this'" She said the last part with a deep a voice as possible. She looked around when they were outside. She looked at him when he began shaking. "To the car!" She said again, walking him over to the car while she continued speaking about Batman and Robin and Catwoman. And the Joker. You can't forget the Joker.

"We uh... We might have to wait until you're feeling better. I don't have my license," she said a bit embarresed, even if she legally wasn't allowed to drive yet. It just made her feel so young. And she was never going to be older. A short moment of sadness moved over her face. She then just took a deep breath and smiled again. "Let's listen to some music!"[/color]

It was good the fact that Ava didn't see through his lie. Well, maybe she did? Because her answer did seem to have a vibe of "I-don't-believe-you-but-I'll-pretend-I-do" to it. He'd still take that over an argument against his lie any time. He could feel her stiffen at his question about Batman before she went into a wild description of an obviously crazy man in a Bat outfit with expensive gadgets. He would have laughed were it not for the exhaustion set deep in his bones. Her deep voiced imitation did manage to make him smile tiredly though.

All the way to the car Ava kept talking about Batman and his friends and adversaries and it was actually nice to just listen while he struggled with just the basic ability of walking.
Finally they managed to get to the car and get in there, though it was really awkward. The minute the doors were closed, Godric turned on the heat with a shaky hand, glancing at Ava as she suddenly seemed to look sad after explaining that she didn't have a license. Concerned made its way to Godric's face, but her sadness was obliterated by her smile. He smiled back, awkwardly before turning the radio on and leaning back into his seat. "So... How is it?" Godric asked out of the blue. He didn't know what else to ask. "Being a vampire?" he could relate to a sudden change in what one was. After all he had gone from goody-two-shoes angel to every-angels-nightmare fallen angel.

Ava was a bit more Ava than she had been before. Every part of her was heightened, her emotions mostly, but her personality as well. She had never been shy, but now she was talking much more, she had been caring, now she pratically played nurse or caretaker for anyone she had met, she had known to be a bit sarcastic now and then, now she was just sassy and a bit salty. She had been magnified in a way she was still coming to terms with.

She shortly spotted his smile and it made her feel better. She sat into the car and looked through the front of the car to the world outside. She moved her head to the music just a bit, before she turned her face to him. "It's... A lot to take in." She looked outside. "I can hear everything, smell everything. And my emotions are just... Strong. I just feel everything so much more and it's scary. I'm a bit of a mess." For a while she had gone between handling it okay to breaking down because she smelled something that reminded her of her childhood or remembered all the things she could never do. Even now she was tearing up a bit just thinking of it. She didn't even bother fighting them. She probably couldn't even if she tried. A drop of blood ran down her cheek. "It's a lot," she said and sniffled, turning her head down to avoid eye contact.

Godric couldn't even begin to imagine what Ava was going through and as he listened to her description of having much keener senses way more powerful emotions, he looked through the window, awe-struck. He kept looking away from her until he could hear her voice tremble with emotions, making him glance towards her. The drop of blood must have meant she was crying, because she was technically dead and dead people could not produce tears. He sighed as his own feelings suddenly got the better of him. This was his fault. He'd killed her and now she was turned into this and he wasn't even sure if she hated it or was just coming to terms with it or how she even felt about it, other than being a mess, as she herself had said.

He reached out to gently touch her upper arm, as his expression softened. "I can only imagine how it must feel. The sudden change," well, technically he had been there himself, but that wasn't something he would just open up and tell Ava about. This was about her, not him. "I'm.. Happy.. That you're not dead," he spoke awkwardly before he released the touch and kept his hands to himself. "And I'm sorry that you've had to go through all of this."

Ava was not so scared to show emotions to others, but he was still a stranger to her, technically. She knew his name, but not because he had told it to her. She wanted to just be happy and carefree. He was the one who had been hurt, she shouldn't make it about herself. But then, if he was anything like her, it was easier to focus on someone else than oneself. She would always rather solve another person's problem instead of her own. Her dark hair fell down and covered her face. She used this to remove the tear and wipe it off in her pants. She put the hair behind her ear and looked at him when he gently touched her arm, his expression soft.

She sent him a gentle smile. "Thank you for listening," she said and looked down again. She was surprised by his words. He was happy? "You are?" She asked, her voicing revealing her surprise. He moved away and she caught his awkwardness, shifting in the seat a bit. "It's not all bad," she expressed and fiddled with her fingers a bit. "I just need to adjust." She looked down to her chest, knowing very well her heart would have beated very hard right now if she had been alive. He was being so kind to her, and she was not all that used to people being nice to her, unless they were paid to. It was probably what got her killed in the first place.

Godric was right about to give Ava a tissue to wipe off the blood stain from her face when she used her hair instead. He didn't mind, he was quite bloody himself anyways. Her surprised look as he said he was happy she wasn't dead gave him a surprised look as well until it occured to him that this wasn't normal at all to begin with: A killer whose victim he had just been saved by. She had given him back his sight and for that he was very grateful to her. "Yeah, I am," he wasn't about to explain why, or how he was a killer who did it all just for the money, not choosing which victim to kill ever. But that was going to change from now on. He wouldn't kill any children ever again, not just because he didn't like it, but because he also didn't want Celeste going after him again.

And now came the question. His name. He simply had to know. "I have another question, if you'll indulge me," he shifted awkwardly in his seat again, avoiding eye contact.
"Last time we.. Met.. You said my name.. My birth name.. How did you know it? Not a single living soul here on Earth knows it, except for you," her and any other angel, but the angels weren't people who lived down here usually. Could she have known his name because another angel had told her?